Hi there! Just bought an '11 TCH last week, and so far I am loving it.

Originally I wanted to get it with the Toyota NAV unit, but the dealers refused to sell me one without leather seats and a moonroof, tacking on $5000, so I decided to just get the base TCH model and figure out what I can do to customize the Radio/GPS at a later time.


Well it's now a later time


So I just have the basic radio, 1 disc with auxilliary 3.5mm input jack, and already I'm a little bored of the mp3s that I can fit on a single disc, so I'm getting that itch to go buy a better stereo. The only problem is I have no idea what would be best. Does anyone have any specific recommendations here?

I asked the dealer what it would take to purchase and install the NAV unit after I bought the car, and they said it would cost $4300, which in my mind is unacceptable. I thought about buying one from EBay or something, but I don't know if I'll be able to install it myself. I actually am good at putting computers together, but I have never worked on car equipment before and I am not sure I am willing to take the risk in accidentally breaking my brand new car just for a stereo/gps system. Additionally there's the whole "needing to hack it" to get it to work while the car is in motion that I am not sure if I comfortable with.

So this car audio shop I know recommends a Pioneer AVH-P4300 instead (http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PU...s/AVH-P4300DVD), which is significantly cheaper. I started looking into it, and it looks nice, but I was not sure about it. So I went to Crutchfield.com to check out what other options were available...

But unfortunately Crutchfield says that there are NO aftermarket headunits that are compatible with my TCH. Does anyone know what that's about? Is that because the console has a molded custom form factor? That doesn't make sense to me though, because the regular Camry has the same form factor and Crutchfield says everything is compatible with that. How does that work anyway? How do I get an aftermarket stereo to look good in a molded console, without looking ugly?


So anyway, yeah, I have no idea what to do. In fact I'm actually considering just purchasing a Zune or something and using the AUX input... but I think I would miss the steeing wheel controls.


Does anyone have any suggestions? Should I do the Toyota NAV? Aftermarket? Or just go for a Zune and Garmin? Heh.

Thanks!

 

I would suggest going with an iPod adapter (like BlitzSafe and others) that allow steering wheel control, an iPod and a Garmin.

 

Hey buddy! The dealer is asking to much! Call other dealers outside your state. I found that prices will change and you can get the nav radio for $1000.00 OEM. Ebay sells the old models that you can plug in w/o cutting cables. There is guy in youtube who did it. In additon, any car audio will install the radio for <$300.00. Aftermarkets are great but you will have to buy extra stuff to make it compatable to your antena or even your steering wheel. Good luck!